Abstract: A porous glass having high strength and a low refractive index, an optical member by using the porous glass, and a method for manufacturing the porous glass are provided. A method for manufacturing a porous glass includes the steps of heat-treating a glass body, which can be phase-separated through heating and which is formed from a plurality of components, at a first temperature to effect the phase separation, heat-treating the glass body, which has been heat-treated at the first temperature, at a second temperature, higher than the first temperature, to effect the phase separation, and bringing the glass body, which has been heat-treated at the second temperature, into contact with an aqueous solution, wherein the total time of the heat treatment time at the first temperature and the heat treatment time at the second temperature is 7 hours or more.

Abstract: The present invention provides a porous glass having excellent antireflection performance for visible light. A porous glass includes a porous layer which is mainly composed of silica and which has pores attributed to spinodal phase separation and pores attributed to binodal phase separation.

Abstract: Provided is a method of producing porous glass having pores with a uniform pore diameter entirely, particularly in the case of phase-separated glass, including selectively removing a denatured layer formed on the surface of glass easily. The method of producing glass includes: forming phase-separated glass containing silicon oxide, boron oxide, and an alkali metal oxide; bringing an alkaline solution held by a porous supporting member into contact with the denatured layer formed on the surface of the phase-separated glass to remove the denatured layer; and immersing the phase-separated glass with the denatured layer removed therefrom in an acid solution to form pores in the phase-separated glass.

Abstract: Provided is a method of producing a porous glass, including selectively etching a phase-separated glass with an acid solution, in which the method allows a processing time to be shortened and suppresses gel-like silica from remaining and being deposited in pores of a porous portion. The method of producing a porous glass includes: immersing the phase-separated glass in a bath containing an acid solution; setting an angle ?, which is formed by a surface to be porosified of the phase-separated glass and a bath liquid surface, to 10° or more to 90° or less; and irradiating the bath with an ultrasonic wave to etch the phase-separated glass, thereby obtaining the porous glass.

Abstract: Provided a method of producing a glass having a silica skeleton with a phase-separated structure, particularly in the case of a phase-separated glass, by selectively removing a compositionally deviated layer on the surface of a phase-separated borosilicate glass. The method of producing a glass includes forming a glass body containing silicon oxide, boron oxide, and an alkali metal oxide; and bringing an alkaline aqueous solution having a viscosity of 5 mPa·s or more to 200 mPa·s or less into contact with a surface of the glass body.

Abstract: Provided are a bismuth-based piezoelectric material whose insulation property is improved while its performance as a piezoelectric body is not impaired, and a piezoelectric device using the piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric material includes a perovskite-type metal oxide represented by the following general formula (1): Bix(Fe1-yCoy)O3??(1) where 0.95?x?1.25 and 0?y?0.30, and a root mean square roughness Rq (nm) of a surface of the piezoelectric material satisfies a relationship of 0<Rq?25y+2 (0?y?0.30).

Abstract: Provided is a method of producing a porous glass having a high strength by a safe, simple process that does not involve the use of any high-temperature heat treatment or acid treatment step. The method includes: mixing 4 wt % or more to 6.5 wt % or less of sodium oxide, 26 wt % or more to 36 wt % or less of boron oxide, and 60 wt % or more to 68 wt % or less of silicon oxide; heating the mixed materials to melt the materials and cooling the molten materials to obtain a glass body; and a step involving bringing the glass body into contact with water without reheating the glass body to obtain the porous glass.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus for imaging a subject image from a lens on an imaging element through an optical filter has a porous body having pores which three dimensionally communicate with each other at least at a side opposite to the imaging element of the optical filter.

Abstract: Provided is a ferroelectric ceramic material containing BaTiO3 as a main component which can control a Curie temperature in a wide range, has no phase transition in the vicinity of a room temperature, and exhibits excellent ferroelectric characteristics. The ferroelectric ceramic material includes an oxide represented by the formula: (100?a?b)BaTiO3.aBi2O3.bM2O3, where M represents a trivalent metal other than Bi, and a and b satisfy 1?a?15, 0?b?5, and 5?a+3b?15 and M is preferably a trivalent metal selected from fifth period transition metals or rare earth metals having an atomic number of 59 or higher to 69 or lower.

Abstract: Provided are a ferroelectric material having good ferroelectricity and good insulation property, and a ferroelectric device using the ferroelectric material. In the present invention, the ferroelectric material includes a metal oxide having a perovskite-type crystal structure, in which: the metal oxide contains bismuth ferrite whose iron is substituted by manganese, and at least one of a copper oxide and a nickel oxide; the bismuth ferrite is substituted by manganese at a substitution ratio of 0.5 at. % or more to 20 at. % or less with respect to a total amount of iron and manganese; and at least one of the copper oxide and the nickel oxide is added in an amount of 0.5 mol % or more to 20 mol % or less with respect to the bismuth ferrite whose iron is substituted by manganese.

Abstract: A normal route guidance of a navigation apparatus based on guidance information retrieved from a hard disk drive is switched to a turn list display based on the guidance information from an external memory when a vehicle enters a high-altitude area. The navigation apparatus calculates a navigation route to a destination, and determines if the navigation route passes a high-altitude area. If the route passes the high-altitude area, the guidance information of a high-altitude area section of the navigation route is written in the eternal memory. Thus, while the vehicle is traveling, the navigation apparatus having the hard disk drive continues its navigation operation by displaying the turn list even when an operation of the hard disk drive is stopped due to a function restriction in the high-altitude area.

Abstract: To provide a piezoelectric ceramic containing BiFeO3 having a {110} plane orientation in a pseudo-cubic form, which is suited for the domain engineering, the piezoelectric ceramic includes a perovskite-type metal oxide represented by the following general formula (1), and has a {110} plane orientation in a pseudo-cubic form: xBiFeO3-(1-x)ABO3??General Formula (1) where A and B each represent one kind or more of metal ions; A represents a metal ion having a valence of 1, 2 or 3; and B represents a metal ion having a valence of 3, 4, or 5, provided that x is within a range of 0.3?x?1.

Abstract: Provided is a lead-free dielectric ceramics having a low leakage current value, and a bismuth iron oxide powder as a raw material thereof. The bismuth iron oxide powder includes at least: (A) grains including a bismuth iron oxide having a perovskite-type crystal structure; (B) grains including a bismuth iron oxide having a crystal structure classified to a space group Pbam; and (C) grains including a bismuth iron oxide or a bismuth oxide having a crystal structure that is classified to a space group I23. The dielectric ceramics are made of bismuth iron oxide in which the bismuth iron oxide crystals having the crystal structure classified to the space group Pbam are distributed at a grain boundary of crystal grains of the bismuth iron oxide crystals having the perovskite-type crystal structure.

Abstract: An oxynitride piezoelectric material, which exhibits ferroelectricity and has good piezoelectric properties, and a method of producing the oxynitride piezoelectric material. The oxynitride piezoelectric material includes a tetragonal perovskite-type oxynitride represented by the following general formula (1): A1?xBix+?1B1?yB?y+?2O3?zNz??(1), where A represents a divalent element, B and B? each represent a tetravalent element, x represents a numerical value of 0.35 or more to 0.6 or less, y represents a numerical value of 0.35 or more to 0.6 or less, z represents a numerical value of 0.35 or more to 0.6 or less, and ?1 and ?2 each represent a numerical value of ?0.2 or more to 0.2 or less, in which the A includes at least one kind selected from Ba, Sr, and Ca and the B and the B? each include at least one kind selected from Ti, Zr, Hf, Si, Ge, and Sn.

Abstract: A navigation apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed. The navigation apparatus includes a map data storage section storing therein road map data; a guidance route retrieval section configured to retrieve a guidance route between a departure point and a destination point based on the road map data; and a navigation route setting section configured to set a navigation route for use in route guidance based on the retrieved guidance route. When the destination point is set to a facility having multiple places for arrival, the guidance route retrieval section retrieves multiple guidance routes from the departure point to the multiple places for arrival. When the multiple guidance routes include one guidance route that does not require the vehicle to make a U-turn on a road around the facility, the navigation route is set to the one guidance route.

Abstract: Provided are a bismuth-based piezoelectric material whose insulation property is improved while its performance as a piezoelectric body is not impaired and a piezoelectric device using the piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric material includes a perovskite-type metal oxide represented by the following general formula (1): Bix(Fe1-yCoy)O3??(1) where 0.95?x?1.25 and 0?y?0.30, and a root mean square roughness Rq (nm) of a surface of the piezoelectric material satisfies a relationship of 0<Rq?25y+2 (0?y?0.30).

Abstract: Provided are a ferroelectric material having good ferroelectricity and good insulation property, and a ferroelectric device using the ferroelectric material. In the present invention, the ferroelectric material includes a metal oxide having a perovskite-type crystal structure, in which: the metal oxide contains bismuth ferrite whose iron is substituted by manganese, and at least one of a copper oxide and a nickel oxide; the bismuth ferrite is substituted by manganese at a substitution ratio of 0.5 at. % or more to 20 at. % or less with respect to a total amount of iron and manganese; and at least one of the copper oxide and the nickel oxide is added in an amount of 0.5 mol % or more to 20 mol % or less with respect to the bismuth ferrite whose iron is substituted by manganese.

Abstract: Provided are an oxynitride piezoelectric material which exhibits ferroelectricity and has good piezoelectric properties and a method of producing the oxynitride piezoelectric material. The oxynitride piezoelectric material includes a tetragonal perovskite-type oxynitride represented by the following general formula (1): A1-xBix+?1B1-yB?y+?2O3-zNz??(1) where A represents a divalent element, B and B? each represent a tetravalent element, x represents a numerical value of 0.35 or more to 0.6 or less, y represents a numerical value of 0.35 or more to 0.6 or less, z represents a numerical value of 0.35 or more to 0.6 or less, and ?1 and ?2 each represent a numerical value of ?0.2 or more to 0.2 or less, in which the A includes at least one kind selected from Ba, Sr, and Ca and the B and the B? each include at least one kind selected from Ti, Zr, Hf, Si, Ge, and Sn.

Abstract: Provided is a piezoelectric material in which the product of the piezoelectric constant and the Young's modulus is large to give excellent piezoelectricity without using lead. A piezoelectric material including a perovskite type crystal represented by a compositional formula of ABO2N wherein A represents a trivalent cation, and B represents a tetravalent cation provided that A and B are each other than lead, wherein when the number of nitrogen N atoms contained in the piezoelectric material is represented by Nxyz and the number of nitrogen atoms each disposed at a face-centered position in the crystal and in a long axis direction of the crystal, out of the nitrogen atoms the number of which is Nxyz, is represented by Nz, an expression of Nz/Nxyz>1/3 is satisfied. It is preferred that A and B are La and Ti, respectively.

Abstract: Provided is a ferroelectric ceramic material containing BaTiO3 as a main component which can control a Curie temperature in a wide range, has no phase transition in the vicinity of a room temperature, and exhibits excellent ferroelectric characteristics. The ferroelectric ceramic material includes an oxide represented by the formula: (100?a?b)BaTiO3.aBi2O3.bM2O3, where M represents a trivalent metal other than Bi, and a and b satisfy 1?a?15, 0?b?5, and 5?a+3b?15 and M is preferably a trivalent metal selected from fifth period transition metals or rare earth metals having an atomic number of 59 or higher to 69 or lower.